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Within the first 50 pages of The Color Purple, Celie, a young African American girl in the early 1900s, writes letters to God, telling Him about the abuse she receives from her father, Alphonso. He rapes her repeatedly, and because of this, she becomes pregnant twice; he takes her children away without explanation. She is eventually forced into a loveless marriage with a man she refers to as "Mr. ____" (Albert), who had wanted to marry her younger sister, Nettie. In her new home, Celie is treated like a servant and suffers unending physical and emotional abuse at the hands of Mr. ____ and his unruly children.

Nettie, running away from their father's house, comes to stay with Celie but is soon forced to flee when she resists the advances of Mr. _____. Before leaving, Nettie promises to write, though Celie never receives any letters and assumes that her sister is gone from her forever. Meanwhile, Celie becomes infatuated with Shug Avery, a glamorous blues singer and longtime mistress of Mr. _____. While initially, in her mind, Shug was merely an image through paintings and tales, Celie admires her confidence and independence; Shug becomes a symbol for her of one who is hard and free from oppression.

With pain, Celie starts to appear as a stronger inner person. She writes all her pain as well as the hopes she gets through her letters, especially those for Shug and the love she shares with Nettie. The opening pages of the novel establish early themes of abuse, sexism, and racism, but also an undercurrent about Celie that suggests she could grow and take power over situations.

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Throughout the beginnings of the book, "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker, we explore many of Celie's early teenage life. As a Black-American from the South, she was heavily influenced by her mother when it came to religion. Celie went to church on a regular basis, as well as had a passion for learning, though did not have the opportunity for a proper education. She has a messed up relationship with her father, who abuses her and gets her pregnant twice. Unfortunately Celie believes that he killed her first child and gave the second to God. Though she is the oldest sibling, she shows much care and love for her younger sister Nettie, especially in protecting her from being married off to Mr. ______. Going on we see Celie getting married to Mr____ and starting to care for his children. Though at the beginning Mr.'s children give her a hard time, they learn to see that Celie is a mother figure they can rely on, which we see when Harpo goes to Celie for advice in his new relationship with Sofia. Though Celie is constantly abused and mistreated by Mr._____ especially sexually, and physically.

Celie's background is a constant need to conform to others and suppress her emotions. For example she was abused all throughout her life, first by her father and then by her husband. Through this abuse she has been forced to conform to a "man" instead of what Celie truly desires. She was so forced to suppress her feelings of sadness, anguish, and anger as she is abused and raped. We also see her having to conform to patience and humility as she is to "obey" and "follow" the man in the house. We can see these messed up relationships show her true desires, which is to be with her sister Nettie. We see that Nettie is the only person she can be real with, she doesn't need to conform to a man nor does she need to suppress her feelings. Though as Nettie runs away to save herself we see Celie's desire to be with her sister grow, as she is now lacking that one source of love that she previously had.

One major explicitly demonstrated rule in the world of “The Color Purple” is that men are more dominant than women. Throughout the first 50 pages we see Celie and other women (Sofia, Nettie) treated as subordinate to men. That women belong to take care of children and do chores around the house while the “man” of the house works and keeps their children and wife in place through verbal and physical abuse. Celie’s father and her husband, Mr.____ also treat her as an object. Using her body for their selfish sexual tendencies. Another rule that is unspoken is that women are objects and tools. As mentioned previously women are treated simply as a commodity for men to make their lives easier, than an actual person to start a relationship with.

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In the book “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker between pages 1 - 51 we are first introduced to a 14 year old girl named Celie who the book is centered around. Celie is a young black girl living in the south trying to navigate life as she has endured a hard life of abuse by the hands of her father. In the story Cellie is writing letters to God as a way to express her emotions as this is the only way she can. We learn that her mother passed away after being sick for some time. Celie also had two babies and her dad took them from here. Celie has a younger sister named Nettie and in this relationship Celie is able to find comfort and love as the sisters love each other dearly. But this confort is taken when her father focus her to marry Mr.____ is abusive like her father. He  sees Celie as a servant that needs to keep his house and kids good. In this marriage Celie is further isolated from what it is like outside her home. With talking to Sofia Celie learns about the strength that she doesnt have and wishes she did.

An unspoken rule in this story is that women are to take care of the house and do whatever their husband asks of them. This is shown on page 12 after Celie marries Mr.___ she jumps right in to action cooking dinner fixing his kids hair and later that night sleeping with him. This plays into the idea that she has no control over her life. This is also shown when Celie gets jealous of Sofia for standing up to Harpo as she will not have any other man control her life. Celie wants to be free like sofia so she can do as she pleases and not do stiff because someone told her to.

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One of the contrasts that have shown throughout The Color Purple is the difference between Celie and Sofia. So far, Celie has spent her life enduring the pains of abuse and oppression from her stepfather and from her husband, Mr. _____. Celie is also quiet, submissive, and believes that she was destined to suffer. On the other hand, Sofia is a much bolder person who is strong-willed and refuses to be controlled. When Harpo attempts to beat Sofia into dominance, she fights back. This sharp contradiction between Celie’s silence and Sofia’s acts of defiance highlights the different ways in which women in the novel navigate the expectations of society. Another contrast that has shown itself is Celie’s admiration for Shug Avery. Shug is everything that Celie is not: confident, outspoken, and glamorous.

This contrast between submission and defiance connects to my big idea of faith. From the beginning of the novel, Celie has been writing to God since the age of 14 and this ties to her silence. She writes to God because she believes that he is the only person who will listen to her. However, her faith has remained passive. She has made herself believe that suffering was God's plan for herself and that she has no power to change her circumstances. However, Sofia does not rely on faith to protect her as she relies on herself. Her refusal to submit to men shows that having faith is not enough and that there also needs to be some type of action at play as well. This contradiction puts Celie in the position to reconsider her understanding of faith.

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One of the contracts and contradictions that have recently popped up in pages 51-100 of the book, The Color Purple, is Celies ability to better express herself. Throughout these last 50 pages we see Celie develop and better express her feelings of love and heartache, especially towards Shug Avery. We see Celie tend to become more hormonal towards Shug, especially in page 79 when she pleasures herself to the sound of Shug and Mr. ______ having intimacy. Another example is when Celie views Shug Avery leaving as tantamount to Nettie leaving (pg. 74). We remember that Celie is very fond of Nettie and misses her everyday, so for Celie to view Shug similarly to Nettie shows how she is contrasting from how she previously was, which was closed off and more suppressed. Celie's increase expression of her emotions also contradicts from how she's been treated by her father and Mr. ____, who have rather disregarded her feelings.

Celie's increase in expression relates to one of my big ideas which is suppression. All her life, Celie has been taught to suppress her feelings so she can properly serve her father and Mr.____ as well as tolerate the excessive physical and mental abuse. She has also been taught how to suppress her self confidence, as she's been told she's very ugly. Though with Celie contradicting how she's been raised by further expressing herself through pleasure and explicitly stating her feelings to Shug as she was about to leave, Celie counters the suppression she's been facing.

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Being silent vs having a voice is something that contrasts in this book. On the silent side you have Celie who has no voice, she is quiet and suppresses how she feels due to societal norms of being the lady of the house and following what your husband says and the men in her life not caring how she feels lending to her silence. She is forced into writing letters to God because she can't express her feelings out loud. While opposite of Celie we have Sofia who refuses to be silenced know matter how other people feel about it. \she feels that no man should have control over how she chooses to live. On page 62 we see that Sofia punched her husband Harpo after he disrespected her which contradicts Celie staying quit and moving along when she feels disrespected by her Husband Mr.

This contradiction of silence and having a voice connects to the big idea of remorse because of the empathy Shug Avery and Sofia have for Celie. When Celie advises Harpo to beat Sofia when he comes to her about Sofia not listening to him, Sofia confronts Celie about why she would encourage abuse. Celie admits to being jealous that Soia has the strength to stand up to disrespect and she is sorry for encouraging it. And instead of Sofia staying mad she recognizes that this is how Celies is conditioned to live, that abuse is normal for her and Sofias action to move past it and bond with Celie shows that she is remorseful for how Celie is treated and wants her to live happier. When Shug Avery first came to live with Celie she was nasty and mean to her but that changed and she became remorseful of her past actions. As Shug Avery and Celie develop a friendship Shug Avery become fond of Celie even writing a song named after her ‘Ms. Celie’. Shug Avery also shows remorse for the abuse Celie endures for Mr. by continuing to leave even after she was ready to move out due to the fact Celie said Mr. hits her less when she's there.

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'I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.' (73). Meaning that having faith in God does not mean that you must go out of your way to consistently please him. God created the world for the world to be appreciated for the time that we are here. While this quote from Shug Avery comes from an earlier book club, it still connects to this one. This is because Celie learns about the letters that Mr. ______ has been hiding letters from Nettie, her sister. These letters expose Celie to a bigger world makes her begin to question whether her life is more than just suffering. The big idea that connects best with these events is faith, primarily due to the fact that Celie has held this belief that God has subjected her to pain and suffering all her life. Reading these letters from Nettie has revealed her to a new world and now puts her in a place where she begins to embrace the world outside of trying to please God and the men like Shug Avery Does.

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Throughout the past events in the book, Shug Avery has been a prominent and inspiring figure. Not only in the world of The Color Purple, but also to Celie. Shug Avery fills the hole the Celie had when she lost her mother and sister. Shug Avery gave her that sisterly love, and a intimacy that allows Celie to truly heal. We see that Shug Avery also offers Celie multiple pieces of advice. The more impacting piece of advice that Shug implicitly gave Celie is to practice self care. Shug does this by affirming Celie's virginity. Although Celie has had intercourse many times because of Mr. ____ and her father, Shug explains to her that truly, she has never lost her innocence because it was never her choice. Shug then encourages Celie to practice intimacy with herself, to stop being ashamed of her body and to start expressing herself through her body. We see that as Celie practices what Shug tells her to do, she's able to express herself more, as well as gain feelings for Shug Avery.

One of my big ideas is perseverance, and we see this throughout Celie's journey with Shug Avery. Shug influences Celie that perseverance isn't through just taking what Mr.____ throws at her. But also that perseverance is to overcome the feelings of shame, guilt, and anxiety from expressing herself. When Celie truly starts to adventure herself and her feelings, as well as practicing how to care for herself more with Shug's advice, we see her being able to really persevere and more often avoid being abused and mistreated by Mr.___

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Celie is learning how to stand on her own and allow herself to feel her emotions. With the help of Shug Avery A Sofia Cellie is able to learn new things. Shug Avery’s advice on self love and pleasure on page 78 teaches Celie that she deserves love and joy, especially when it comes to understanding her own body. This moment is crucial in Celie’s journey toward self-discovery and empowerment. Shug avery is also there in other ways being the friend Celie never had. On page 146 we see Shug Avery trying to get Celie to find her own happiness by making her herself pants. This goes against the norms placed upon her which is helping Celie come out of her shell and live. Though Sofia is younger than Celie she tries to instill the same strength and Independence she has into Celie. Throughout the story we see that Sofia refuses to submit to male dominance or racial oppression, once saying “Hell no!” when Harpo tries to make her obey him. Her strength contrasts with Celie’s submissiveness to any male figure in her life. Sofia tries to get Cellie to stand up for herself and though she doesn't do it Celie watching Sofia stand up for herself shows Celie that there are other ways to live and maybe one day she can live differently.

For most of Celie's life she has been under the control of an abusive man, she had no right to her feelings or body. And with Shug Avery's help she has been able to somewhat free herself from this control. Shug helps build up Celie's confidence by telling her that she's beautiful and deserving of love. This helps Celie reclaim control of her self image and see herself through her eyes and not the eyes of her abusers.

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In the novel "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker, pages 150-200 show us to a period in Celie's life where she begins to realize that her life is not meant for her to go through constant pain and suffering. This was realized when Celie found out that Mr. ___ has been hiding the letters that were sent by her sister Nettie. Celie finds out that there is a world that exists outside the one that she knows and it is better than her current situation. She begins to have hope and no longer accepts being mistreated and looked down upon by Mr. ___.

Celie's spirituality is actually transformed between pages 150-200, as she shifts from a patriarchal traditional understanding of God to a more personal and spiritual understanding of faith. Celie's religion is initially rooted in fear and obedience and is created out of the suffering she endures at the hands of men. But through Shug Avery, she begins to imagine God in another way—not as some old white God in heaven but as something found in the earth, in beauty, and in love. Shug presents Celie with the idea that God is more than churches or religious dogma's teachings and is actually everywhere, especially in happiness and independence. This realization gives Celie the power to realize her value as an individual and is thus in a position to upstage the oppressive forces that surround her. Her belief no longer rests on obeying and suffering but is founded on loving herself and being free, which marks a significant transition towards personal freedom and happiness in her life.

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In the pages 151-200 of the book, "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker, we go through Celie's realization and exploration of self-care and standing up for herself. We see this through subtle and implicit actions and mindset shifts. The most noticeable is the distance she is putting between herself and Mr._____. First by spending time in a different room of the house, most times with Shug Avery. To the point where she stood up to Mr._____ and left with Shug Avery to start a better life. This Aha moment in Celie's life is a revelation of how she needs no person to rely on but herself. As she slowly distances herself from Mr.____ she also escapes the only life she's known, which is a life in abusive obedience to men.

This aha moment of Celie realizing that she is fully capable of being her own person and not needing to kneel down to any other man ties into my big idea of suppression. For so long she has been suppressed, from her ability to love herself, to her abilities to love others. Now, because she has grown, not just physical, but also in mindset, Celie is tearing down those walls of suppression that many men have built around her to keep her obedient.

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An aha moment occurs when Celie discovers that her sister, Nettie, is alive and has been writing to her for years. In many parts of the book Celie believes that Nettie is dead, a heartbreaking assumption reinforced by Mr.____, who has been hiding Nettie’s letters that she writes to Celie. When Celie finally finds the hidden letters and reads Nettie’s words, she experiences a profound awakening—her only true source of love and hope was never lost. This realization reignites Celie’s spirit, giving her strength to stand up for herself and redefine her life. It marks a turning point in her journey from oppression to empowerment, as she now has proof that she is not alone and that love still exists in her world. In one of her letters to God after this discovery she says “Now I know nettie alive I start to strut a little bit.” This quote demonstrates that upon learning her sister is alive, Celie is able to feel better about herself, that there is someone alive that loves her which in turn allows her to start living how she wants.

This aha moment connects deeply to the theme of control, as Mr.’s decision to hide Nettie’s letters represents his desire to dominate Celie’s life by isolating her from the one person who truly loves her. By keeping the letters from her he is reinforcing Celie’s belief that she has no one and no escape. As Celie uncovers the truth she realizes Mr.’s cruelty and the lengths he will go to isolate her from the people she loves. At the same time she is also reclaiming a sense of control over her own life.